Parables for Entrepreneurs

John D. Sanders

Written for entrepreneurs, corporate management and investors, John D. Sanders expands on his philosophies of making companies attractive for outside capital - why to do it, how to do it, when to do it, how to promote it, and what to do with it. Produced by Heard Not Seen Media, Inc. read less
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Episodes

Ep. 17 The Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss Statement - and what does it all mean?
Feb 23 2021
Ep. 17 The Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss Statement - and what does it all mean?
Written and podcast for entrepreneurs, corporate management, and investors, John D. Sanders expands on his philosophies of making companies attractive for outside capital - why to do it, how to do it, when to do it, how to promote it, and what to do with it. Visit JohnSanders.com for more insights, articles, stories, and be sure to catch this podcast anywhere you get your audio. Our subject today is the balance sheet, the profit and loss statement commonly referred to as P&L, and what does it all mean? So every organization, and if you're a public company, you have to publish your balance sheet and your P&L and it has to be audited. But you can do your own balance sheet and P&L. And a lot of small companies and organizations do not have them audited but have someone in the organization keep track of the numbers. Otherwise, if you don't have a balance sheet, you don't know where you are. And if you don't have a P&L, you don't know where you're going. So that's the difference between them. One is a snapshot, the balance sheet, and the other is a roadmap of where you're going.  JOHN D. SANDERS Business Consultant, Investor, and Technology Advocate. In the provision of Management Consulting for Entrepreneurs, I design sound business plans I find worth investing In. With several decades of background in investment banking, strategic planning, and technology growth, whether you're handling one million or seventy million, I'm here to help. Visit the podcast page at ParablesForEntrepreneurs.com and visit JohnSanders.com for more insights, articles, and stories.
Ep. 11 Charities and Business
Sep 28 2020
Ep. 11 Charities and Business
So this morning, I thought we would talk a little bit differently than we've been talking about in our previous weeks. I'm going to talk about charity and its relationship to business. They are tied together because first of all if you don't have a good environment to do business in, you can't do good business. So businesses need to support the community and support charitable activities and make sure that the environment for doing business is as good as possible. And if you've got people that are not up to snuff, they drag down the business. if you've got a community that's not exciting to be involved in, you drag down the business. And a business that has employees that don't care about their community, or don't care about their environment, it drags down your own business. But if they get excited and it’s a project they can work on that is not directly related to making money, that enthuses a lot of people, especially the younger people with the stars in their eyes. You know as older folks, you have to kick our butts to get us to think about something. I'm an old folk. So I just wanted to discuss four of the charities that I'm involved in, how I got involved, why they're so exciting, and why I picked these. JOHN D. SANDERS Business Consultant, Investor, and Technology Advocate. In the provision of Management Consulting for Entrepreneurs, I design sound business plans I find worth investing In. With several decades of background in investment banking, strategic planning, and technology growth, whether you're handling one million or seventy million, I'm here to help. JohnSanders.com
Ep. 6 Advice on Receiving Advice
Jul 3 2020
Ep. 6 Advice on Receiving Advice
Today John Sanders is giving advice on receiving advice centered around his article “Advice on Receiving Advice” published in October 1996, where you’ll find it below. For a couple of years I have had the honor of serving as an FLC National Advisor under the Chairmanship of Dr. David Swanson from NIST, and now under Dr. Jag Mathur from Tracor for next year. On the agenda has been the enhancement of value and effectiveness of advisors at the national, regional, and laboratory levels. In my professional experience, I've been an advisor for individuals, companies, and organizations; and, I've also been on the other side of the equation and hired advisors. I believe there are common threads for any successful arrangement between the parties: common goals and expectations, along with appropriate results and compensation. Let's explore these threads. We all need advice. It might be to help determine long term strategies or short term tactics. Advisors also serve as entries to marketplaces, with knowledge of a particular industry or technical area. Sometimes, having a "sounding board" for presenting conflicting ideas or exploring some far-out concepts can be extremely worthwhile. A committee of advisors can be used to put a "stamp of approval" on a controversial decision (if they agree). They also serve just for a "sanity check" so we don't do something really dumb. Management (the side hiring the advisor) should not expect advisors to make decisions. If they want decisions, the first one should be to change management. But, management should respect the role of the advisor and determine the level of importance to encompass the common threads. GOALS: Do you know what your long term goals are? Are they in stockholder profits, maximum utilization of technical resources, preserving employment levels, getting products to market as fast as possible, community outreachÑ or just to satisfy the boss? EXPECTATIONS: Management should expect the advisors to know their subjects and be prepared to actively participate. However, management must provide the tools for the advisor to adequately prepare. Define the issues. RESULTS: The first result that any advisor desires is that the advice is wanted. I've never really cared whether my advice was followed or not, just considered. Many circumstances surround decisions, and the person (or persons) with the responsibility must be free to decide at that level of responsibility. The advisor should get out of the way of the decision. However, the advisory role should be also set at the level for which results of the advice can be appreciated. If one wants the best advice, then recruit the best advisors and provide them with the best tools and background information availableÑ in sufficient advance time for the best preparation. COMPENSATION: This tends to be a touchy subject for some people. Remember, the equations should balance. If you expect, you should pay. If you have no expectations, you don't need to pay and you won't get any results. But, compensation takes many characteristics. Truly there can be psychic rewards by "being involved". Making contacts or receiving promotion in the business arena of importance can also be very substantial compensation. However, management should really summarize their side of this equation to real dollars. If you want a $2,000 per day consultant, then either pay $2,000 per day or figure how to equate at such a level. I assure you that, in the long run, you get no more than what you pay for. Set lofty goals, so you can raise your level of expectations and get results that are worthy of high compensation. Be sure to visit JohnSaners.com. JOHN D. SANDERS Business Consultant, Investor, and Technology Advocate. In the provision of Management Consulting for Entrepreneurs, I design sound business plans I find worth investing In. With several decades of background in investment banking, strategic planning, and technology growth, whether you're handling one million or seventy million, I'm here to help. JohnSanders.com
Ep. 5 Technology and Education
Jun 15 2020
Ep. 5 Technology and Education
John Sanders offers his opinion on a recent article he read in the Wall Street Journal’s op-ed opinion piece by Andy Kessler titled “Give Online Learning an Upgrade.” John’s article on “Technology and Education” can be found on JohnSanders.com here. Technology and Education I'm going to step on some toes in this article, and some people won't like it. My summary question is, "Can the education system as we know it adapts to the new technologies of learning, or must we invent around it?" Notice I say the technologies of learning. The kids of today have access to an exponential growth of methods for learning being brought forward by the new technologies of computer programs, on-demand television, interactive multimedia, and now the Internet. And the warning flags are being posted everywhere about the dangerous influences these technologies can foster. I'm not going to minimize these dangers- we should all be aware and cautious. But, previous generations learned the wrong things either "behind the barn" or "at the pool hall" or "at camp" or even "on television." Technology and mobility have just increased the options for learning- not increase the desire. If the "wrong things" are available through more interesting and exciting media than the "right things", why shouldn't we expect the learning desire to be fulfilled that way. I also would rather have fun than be bored or work hard. Here is an example I've used many times in discussing motivation in education. Give me the most underprivileged, demotivated, inner-city kid along with a roll of quarters, and let's do an experiment. I'll take that kid into the video game arcade and put him or her at the most complicated game. Before that roll of quarters is used up, he will understand the intricacies of winning, scoring, hand and eye coordination, concepts of angles and distance, and the psychology of the enemy or partner- such that he can run circles around the best college-educated professor in the country. That kid can learn the most complicated concepts and techniques if he's motivated and has the basic principles. Why do so many people only complain about kids learning the wrong things on television? Why are we already hearing the cry that kids should not be allowed alone on the Internet? Hello! Wake up! Commercial television has developed the capacity to make learning as much fun now as our grandparents had behind the barn. No wonder the kids that watch so much TV aren't motivated in school. However, get ready for the real problem. It is my prediction that the "worst" kids in junior high school 5 years from now are not going to be the "bad" kids. If you think those undermotivated kids are so disruptive now, wait until we see these motivated kids that have spent several years exploring computer software and the Internet as their baseline mode of learning. They are going to be "bored to death" in the regular classroom. They will also probably understand more information than most of their teachers. Computers and the Internet will be as natural to them as picking up a hammer. These opportunities present terrific challenges for the developers of technology, especially in information technology and telecommunications. These challenges are already here. Also, adults displaced by technology in their jobs need exciting, motivating methods of learning new skills- and they need them now. Don't let these modern tools rest in your laboratory, or gather dust at the local school because the educators don't really understand them, or be rejected because the wrong stuff can be leaned through them, or not be purchased because all the money must be used only for salaries. Don't let people stand in the way of good uses of technology. (And here's a real secret: There 's going to be big markets for good solutions!) prepared for the November 1995 Issue of the Federal Laboratory Consortium NewsLink Be sure to visit JohnSanders.com. JOHN D. SANDERS Business Consultant, Investor, and Technology Advocate. In the provision of Management Consulting for Entrepreneurs, I design sound business plans I find worth investing In. With several decades of background in investment banking, strategic planning, and technology growth, whether you're handling one million or seventy million, I'm here to help. JohnSanders.com